Knotted Home at Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building

April 30, 2018

The Prayer River, part of the larger Knotted Home installation at Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building / Courtesy of Meg Saligman

A closer view of the dyed ribbons that make up the Prayer River / Courtesy of Meg Saligman

Daytime Within the Grotto, part of the larger Knotted Home installation at Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building / Courtesy of Meg Saligman

Evening at the Grotto, part of the larger Knotted Home installation at Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building / Courtesy of Meg Saligman

Meg Saligman's Knotted Home installation at our Ruth Williams House at the Gene & Marlene Epstein Building is actually a series of individual pieces inspired by—and in many cases, repurposing—the Knotted Grotto. The text below is from the accompanying signage.

KNOTTED HOME 2018A Project HOME and Meg Saligman Studio collaboration

Within the walls of this lobby are the prayers and struggles of roughly 150,000 people. Inscribed on white strips of cloth and blessed by Pope Francis, these prayers were collected at the Knotted Grotto, a public art installation that had significant impact surrounding the Papal visit to Philadelphia in September 2015. The Knotted Grotto held space for the struggles of all, while focusing attention on those struggling with homelessness and hunger.

Collected prayer strips have been repurposed and used to create the walls of this residence. The art gains heightened meaning as struggle turns to home.

MEMORY GARDENlight, projection, video, wood

The names of beloved family members were read frequently within the Knotted Grotto. In this custom, we blend the prayer strips and the names of those we now remember at Project HOME. Thousands of prayers are stored inside this cabinet as they surround the projected names of those who live strong in our memory.

Over 60,000 prayers from the Knotted Grotto were lovingly rolled, dyed, and placed one by one within this swirling alcove. Peace, prayer, and thousands of hours of handwork flow through this main lobby wall.

RIBBON PATH (tile floor)glass mosaic

The glass tile sections of the lobby floor symbolize prayer strips enveloping and flowing through the pathways of the Ruth Williams House.

PRAYER WALLSLumicore panels with laminated prayer strips

Read the prayers, struggles and dreams of others within these translucent lobby walls and experience the shared condition of human struggle.

EVENING AT THE GROTTOacrylic, non woven media, wood, prayer strips

See the process of prayer strips turning into colorful rolled circles. Original prayer strips are displayed in different stages of their transformation from white strip to colorful walls. They flank the painted depiction of a beautiful night in the Knotted Grotto.

DAYTIME WITHIN THE GROTTOacrylic, non woven media

Breathe deep, savor this moment, and experience peace depicted within this painting. May the calm and sense of belonging found in the original Knotted Grotto thrive within those who live and work here.